Hammered Chain Bracelet

Learn how to turn a length of wire into a beautiful chain bracelet

About the Class

The hints, tips and instructions in this class will take you from never having soldered before to a beautiful silver chain bracelet - or a necklace if you get carried away!

A chain was one of the first pieces of jewellery that I made after I learnt to solder, certainly the first piece of jewellery with multiple solder joins, and it taught me so many essential jewellery making techniques that I now use every day in my studio, both in my own work and in my classes. Now my video classes give you the opportunity to learn the project at home!

I will teach you how to make a beautiful chain bracelet with 1.2mm sterling silver round wire links, starting with a length of wire that I'll teach you how to easily turn into jump rings or links. I'll show you how to texture the links, and also teach you how to make a matching clasp for your bracelet.

This class is part of a series teaching you all the basic but essential silversmithing skills that you need to create beautiful jewellery. You can choose to enrol on this class separately or on the Silversmithing for Beginners course bundle and access the full series of classes.

If you need any extra help as you work your way through the classes do join us over on The Jeweller's Bench Café group over on Facebook - the perfect place to ask for advice and to show off what you've been making.

You will need:

Materials:
1.2mm to 1.5mm diameter round sterling silver wire. 1.2mm sterling silver round wire used in the class example. Wire down to 1mm can be used but smaller links would then be needed for the design to keep the links strong.

Equipment: (all the jewellery making kit listed here can be used for many different projects)
* Soldering kit - see here for more details
* Mandrels such as knitting needles or wooden dowel (I used 12mm & approximately 8-10mm)
* Jeweller's saw and saw blade
* Bench peg
* Hammers for texturing
* Steel bench block and leather cushion (or folded tea towel!)
* Needle files (small files) and fine emery paper
* Flat nosed pliers, round nosed pliers and wire cutters
* Masking tape
* For polishing - a tumble polisher or elbow grease and a silver polishing cloth.

An explanation of all the tools and materials that you need is included in the videos, and a downloadable equipment and materials list is available with the class.

Don’t worry if you don’t have the same materials in stock that I have used in the class example, or hammers that give the same textures – experiment with what you have available. Beautiful chains can be made with a mix of wire gauges left over from other projects. Above all, have fun!

1 hour 26 minutes long, 18 lessons


Course Curriculum

"This  is a great class!  I have enjoyed watching all of Joanne's  classes, and applying the techniques to my metal smithing. I look forward to  what is next..."
Jan N.
"Brilliant  tutorial. I am a beginner to silversmithing and was able to follow all the steps. Joanne explained the processes in an easy to understand way.  Looking forward to watching more of Joanne's tutorials."
Lisa W.
"Fantastic teacher! Step by step detailed instructions. Thank you Joanne."
Julie T.

Joanne Tinley

Tutor and Founder of The Jeweller's Bench

The Jeweller's Bench is run by Joanne Tinley. She has been making her own jewellery for as long as she can remember and left her first career as a school teacher to set up business as a  jewellery designer and tutor nearly 20 years ago. She is self-taught and like many people started with wire and beads. Learning how to solder, however, opened up a whole new world of jewellery making,  one that she is keen to share!

Legal Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to show safe working practices and to discuss health and safety aspects of jewellery making, but in the end I cannot take responsibility for how the tutorial information is used and how safely you work. Take the effort to set up your work area safely right from the start!
All Rights Reserved. No part of this course may be reproduced or shared without express, written consent from the author.

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